A new billboard along Interstate 94 near the Illinois-Indiana border is encouraging Illinois residents to take advantage of Indiana’s Education Freedom Tax Credit (EFTC) program, highlighting growing disparities in school choice options between the two states.
The EFTC program allows donors to claim a federal tax credit of up to $1,700 when they contribute to K-12 scholarship organizations in Indiana. These scholarships can be used for private school tuition or various educational expenses, including tutoring, and are available to students from households earning up to 300% of the area median income. The program is part of a federal initiative aimed at expanding school choice through tax-credited donations.
Indiana has opted into the program, but Illinois has not, effectively barring Illinois children from benefiting from these scholarships. The billboard, launched Monday by the Institute for Quality Education—Indiana’s largest scholarship-granting nonprofit—urges Illinois taxpayers to direct their donations to Indiana scholarship organizations beginning January 1, 2027.
The Institute for Quality Education sees this campaign as a means to channel federal tax dollars toward supporting students, regardless of their home state. However, the move has raised concerns that Illinois could lose charitable contributions to out-of-state groups, potentially diverting funds that might otherwise support local nonprofits if Illinois were to adopt the program.
Illinois’s stance on school choice remains cautious, with Governor JB Pritzker yet to decide whether to opt into the federal tax credit program. Opposition from public school teacher unions has influenced ongoing hesitation, despite the program’s expanding presence in neighboring states.
Previously, Illinois operated the Invest in Kids tax-credit scholarship program, which provided vital support to families seeking alternatives to public school education. The program was considered a critical resource for students facing challenges such as bullying, unsafe school environments, or falling behind academically. However, Illinois lawmakers discontinued Invest in Kids in 2023 by choosing not to renew it, effectively ending that school choice option.
Surrounding Illinois, states including Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, and Missouri have embraced the federal scholarship initiative. Wisconsin remains an exception but maintains its own established school choice programs.
With Illinois increasingly isolated in this regard, families advocating for expanded educational options may find themselves turning to neighboring states’ programs to access financial aid for private schooling. The current environment underscores a growing divide in educational policy across the region, as debates continue over how best to support low-income students’ access to schooling alternatives.